Obesity, one of the most prevalent diet-related problems in the United States, currently affects over 34 million adults ages 20-74. The highest rates of obesity are observed among minority women aged 20 and older: 44% of African Americans, 39% of Mexican-Americans, 34% of Cubans, and 37% of Puerto Ricans have a body mass index of 27.3 or greater. Obesity is associated with an increased risk for several chronic diseases, including coronary artery disease, diabetes, hypertension, gallbladder disease, and certain types of cancer. The U.S. Surgeon General has cited the prevention and treatment of obesity as a national priority. The 1985 Task Force on Black and Minority Health, led by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, concluded that disparity exists between the morbidity and mortality among Blacks, Hispanics, and other minority Americans as compared with the nation's population as a whole. Rates of noninsulin-dependent diabetes are higher among Hispanics and Blacks than among Whites, and rates of hypertension clearly are higher among Blacks than among Whites; both diseases are more prevalent among overweight persons. The Task Force has called upon the nation to bridge this gap in health and health care. We therefore propose to design a randomized, controlled, prospective multicenter trial to test the hypothesis that long-term maintenance of weight loss to a health body weight (10% reduction) among obese minority women will reduce both risk factors and morbidity and mortality. We intend to develop a culturally and linguistically sensitive multidisciplinary intervention for obesity treatment in African American and Latino women - a program that will subsequently be transferred directly to the communities in need of assistance to be implemented by minority health professionals and lay workers. We have together developed and investigated a new therapeutic multidisciplinary program for weight loss that has proven effective in nonminority women and that we believe is particularly well suited to the needs of minority women; the diet includes meal replacement products, which have been a novel and effective means for promoting weight loss and maintenance. Our goal during the planning phase will be threefold: to characterize the target populations in three urban areas; to modify our existing intervention program (with the assistance of community minority advisors) to be culturally and linguistically appropriate; and to pilot this intervention in obese (BMI>30) African American and Latino women.